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A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewThe American Plan
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"Nothing you have said sounds crazy."
— Nick
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Emily Taafe as Lili
(Photo: Jane Hobson) |
Lili sets her eye on a particular young man Nick (Luke Allen-Gale) who is another girl, Mindy's boyfriend. The impecunious but handsome Nick is looking for someone to fund his training as an architect but Lili is not all that she appears.
The American Plan had some rave reviews from the Ustinov Studio space in Bath and on the strength of those has transferred to the larger space at the St James' Theatre. Diana Quick is outstanding as the German-Jewish mother who is three steps ahead of everyone else's thinking as she works to ensure the best possible future for her daughter.
Lili starts the play as being cute and quirky but over time we start to question whether she has mental health problems. Nick too is not what he claims nor what he seems when his close friend Gil (Mark Edel-Hunt) visits.
The designer has set a sloping wooden deck for Lili to sunbathe on, with a backdrop of a curtain with autumnal leaves. But this is a psychological plot as much as it is about the place where the denizens of the city spend their vacation and pretend to be someone else. The slope allows the director to shift the power structures as the height difference given by standing up slope gives a character more impetus.
Dona Croll provides good support as Eva's black housekeeper and confidante Olivia and in the final scene we are unsure who she is playing cards with until that person actually enters. When Eva talks about her life as it once was in Cologne we can feel her nostalgia for what it was before the Nazis came to power and the changes she is experiencing in America.
Slowly everyone's sad past is revealed as they all talk about age. Feeling old, Eva says "I saw Methuselah in his pram," and Lili asks, "How old are you when it's too late to stop being happy?" Eva sums up her family when she says, "We are not an eccentric family, just a little giddy round the edges."
Greenberg's fine lines allow the secrets and lies to be exposed slowly and we all feel the pain when a discussion is held in front of Lili about the financial arrangements Eva has offered Nick to become a member of their family. The final scene is set years later and provides some closure. My feeling on The American Plan is that the upping of the performances to fill the larger space may have unsettled the delicate impact of this play.
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| The American Plan
Written by Richard Greenberg Directed by David Grindley Starring: Diana Quick, Emily Taafe With: Dona Croll, Luke Allen-Gale, Mark Edel-Hunt Designed by Jonathan Fensom Lighting: Jason Taylor Sound: Gregory Clarke Running Time: Two hours 10 minutes with an interval Box Office: 0844 264 2140 Booking to 10th August 2013 Website: http://www.stjamestheatre.co.uk Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 9th July 2013 at the St James Theatre, 12 Palace Street, London SW1E 5JA (Rail/Tube: Victoria/St James'Park) |
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